Edge of Chaos
by IamDonuttheWalrus
Summary: When the Magic Trio mess up a spell, Alistair decides he's had enough. He de-ages them and sends them to Hogwarts to help them get better control over their magic - and even takes a job himself as the sexy new History of Magic professor. But there's more to this than just magic, Arthur knows. The Ministry thinks it can control his school, does it? Ha! Look out Umbridge!
1. First Steps

**A/N: Now I know I should be working on my other story, but I hit a slump with that one and wanted to do this instead. Have fun dudes *salutes***

**Since Egypt has never spoken a word in canon material, he will be a mute here as well. More fun like that. **

**This chapter contains Romanian angst, Snarky ass Englishmen, and Sexy ass Scotsmen. And Norway. **

**This takes place in the Order of the Phoenix, mostly because I wanted to stick Scotland and Umbridge in a room together and see how it plays out. **

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Hetalia. If I did, I would be doing better things than writing fanfictions, like reviving Fred Weasley or making a 2P episode. **

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"Right, that tears it." Alistair growled, crossing his arms and glaring at the three nations in front of him. One of which was trying to put on a I-totally-didn't-do-it face; a mischievous Romanian, to be exact. Another one, Alistair's own little brother, was shuffling his feet back and forth, trying to hide the wand behind his back. The third, a cold Norwegian, was just staring impassively back up at Alistair, as though he could really care less about this.

"That is the third time this week. Third bloody time that you've miscast a spell. I swear, you three have been getting worse and worse by the day. You've left me no other choice. I'm calling Albus." Alistair announced, and this raised a reaction from the younger sibling.

"A-Albus? You expect me to teach?" Arthur squeaked, and that's when he noticed Alistair creeping forward with a terrifying grin on his face. "…Alistair? …What're you doing? Alistair. SHTAP."

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"I hate you. So much." Arthur hissed, tugging and picking viciously at a poor loose string on his sleeve. Dmitri and Lukas growled and muttered their own agreements, but Alistair just kept up with his infuriatingly smug grin. They were currently standing out behind the Leaky Cauldron, at the entrance to Diagon Alley. Or, to Lukas, Dmitri, and Hassan, a dirty, worn out brick wall behind an even dirtier and even more worn out pub. Yes, Egypt was there as well, simply because Alistair didn't think Lukas would be enough to keep Dmitri and Arthur in check.

And another thing? Dmitri, Lukas, Arthur, and Hassan had all been de-aged to fifteen years old, though Hassan was the only one who had been turned younger willingly. He knew that he, like the Magic Trio, could do magic, but he always seemed to have some sort of control over his that they didn't. But, since most of the other countries didn't believe in magic, he didn't flaunt his talents like the others did, though he was very curious about it. He was quite frankly excited about this whole going to…what was it…Pigfarts? Which was more than anybody else here could say. And he had to admit, their sour moods were putting him off quite a lot.

Ignoring Arthur, Alistair rolled up his sleeves and took his wand out of his pocket, turning to the group of teenagers behind him.

"Dmitri, Lukas, Hassan, you three have never been to Diagon Alley before, have you?" He asked, and Dmitri nodded, Lukas grunted, and Hassan remained silent. Alistair took that as an agreement, and ignoring Arthur's constant growling of "bloody highlander" and "jackass", tapped his wand a few times on a certain brick. Immediately the wall began to shiver and change, bricks sliding in and out place with a pleasing pinging and cracking noise, to create a brilliant archway.

Every fifteen year old, whether they'd seen it before or not, had an expression of pure awe on his face…save for Lukas. He just raised an eyebrow coolly. Alistair shoved them all through before they could properly process what they were seeing, and Dmitri turned his head back to see the brick wall shift back into place behind them. Not caring that one of his fangs was peeking over his lip, he grinned. That was so wicked.

"Firs' things firs'. Yer wands." Alistair said bluntly, hurrying them to the oldest shop on the street. Black paint was peeling off of it, and dust so thickly coated the windows that it was nearly impossible to see inside. Squinting up at the sign above the store, Lukas was barely able to make out the name. _Ollivander's: Makers of Fine Wands since 395 B.C._

The others didn't get a chance to read it, since Alistair opened the door with a flourish, making the little bell above the door ring.

"After ye." He smirked at Arthur's evil glare, and just waited silently until all four teenagers had entered the shop. Dmitri glanced around curiously, barely containing his excitement at being here. His fingers were twitching anxiously, just dying to try every single wand in the vicinity. Lukas kept his face indifferent, but on the inside he was just as anxious as Dmitri was. Hassan was staring at everything wide-eyed, resisting the urge to hold onto one of the other boy's sleeves for fear of losing them in this odd, new place. Arthur was still too busy fuming at Alistair, who had settled down in the rickety wooden chair by the window and looked ready for a quick nap.

Ollivander emerged from a dusty old corner, his silvery gray eyes shining in the dim light and scaring the living daylights out of the boys.

"Ah yes, Alistair! Good to see you!" He exclaimed, and Alistair grinned cockily, getting up from the chair and shaking hands heartily with Ollivander, whom every boy nation there was now filing under 'creepy old guy'. "I trust these are yours, then?" Ollivander asked curiously, peering sagely at the boys, who took an almost unconscious step back.

"No, just this one." Alistair chuckled, wrapping a sneaky arm around Arthur's shoulders and pulling him forward.

"Right then, we'll start with him." Ollivander smiled, and Arthur shot many a loathing glare back at Alistair, who just smirked and sat back down in the chair. He seemed to be the only one who was comfortable here in the dusty shop; indeed, Lukas, Dmitri, and Hassan had almost subconsciously huddled closer together, watching the corners carefully in case anyone else was hiding there. "Hold out your wand arm, young man, and we'll get started."

"Wand arm?" Dmitri whispered.

"The arm you write with." Lukas answered coldly, and Dmitri nodded.

"Oh."

Arthur did as told, watching with casual interest as an enchanted tape measure began to measure the length of his arm, how tall he was, how far apart his eyes were, how wide his chest was, even the distance between his chin and collarbone. The three behind him were staring unabashedly at the tape measure, having never seen anything like it before. Meanwhile, Ollivander was scurrying about his shop, checking boxes seemingly at random and muttering to himself.

"That's quite enough now…" He announced loudly, and the tape measure curled up and dropped to the floor, seemingly lifeless. Ollivander handed Arthur a box, and so began the long tirade of wand try-outs for the Englishman.

_First: Jumped out of his hand._

_Second: Refused to get out of the box._

_Third: Dissolved._

_Fourth: Exploded._

_Fifth: Melted into a green blob that stuck to the floor._

"A challenge, then? Don't worry, we'll find the right one."

_Sixth: Sent Ollivander's desk flying back into the wall._

_Seventh: Made the plant in the corner burst into flames._

_Eighth: Sent lightening at the ceiling…without Arthur even touching it at all._

_Ninth: Started screaming for no reason._

_Tenth: Grew wings and flew away._

_Eleventh: Snapped in two._

_Twelfth: Suddenly became very heavy and fell to the floor, creating a large dent._

At this point, Arthur was becoming very frustrated, especially with Dmitri snickering at the 'heavy wand' incident. Alistair was smirking again, and Arthur was not happy about it one bit. Hassan looked a bit wary about being here now, and Lukas' mouth was twitching at the corners at Arthur's frustration.

"Picky customer…I wonder…" Ollivander muttered to himself, then he disappeared into a very far corner, looking over boxes that had long been buried in cobwebs and dust. Dmitri took this golden opportunity.

"Heavy wand…oh, that's just priceless…!" He gasped, doubling over in laughter as Lukas chuckled and Hassan smiled as well. Arthur tried his very best to ignore them, but his ears turned red in anger and embarrassment.

"Alistair, I never thought to ask, but what's your wand's core?" He inquired, and Alistair raised an eyebrow, pleasingly surprised that Arthur had asked. He looked at Arthur's wide, honestly curious eyes, and added this to the pathetically small pile labelled 'Actual Moments that Arthur Acted Brotherly Towards Me'.

"Oak, thirteen inches…'s got a dual core. Both of 'em are rare, so dornt go thinkin' ye'll git a special wand jus' cuz Ah did." Alistair growled, and Arthur rolled his eyes. "It's Demon and Angel feathers. Ta be honest, it's one a yer feathers. Plucked it from ye when ye were a wee bairn." He admitted, and Arthur's eyes widened.

"…Whoa…" He breathed, looking at Alistair with a bizarre kind of admiration in his eyes. Alistair raised his eyebrows again, looking at him confusedly. Fortunately, Ollivander returned at that moment with a dusty old box and saved Alistair from coming up with a witty reply.

"Here, try this one. Its dual cored like Alistair's; Unicorn hair and phoenix feather. Elm, eleven inches. Good for defensive spells and rather bendy." Ollivander explained, taking it out of the box.

"Oh God, now his wand is flexible and heavy…!" Dmitri whispered to himself, barely stifling his laughter even as Lukas elbowed him in the stomach. Arthur only had a moment to admire the wand's sleek, shiny black wood before it was shoved into his hands by Ollivander. Almost immediately, a strange warmth spread up his arm, and he hesitantly gave it a wave.

A few shards of wood from Ollivander's broken desk assembled themselves in response, only taking a few seconds to form a miniature pirate ship, which floated into the air and sailed around, the air rippling like water in its wake. Alistair clapped, honestly impressed with that show and the other boys each had their own way of showing their awe. Dmitri clapped too, Lukas whistled lowly and Hassan chuckled, amused by Arthur's surprised and very pleased expression.

"That's rather impressive, Mr…?" Ollivander asked, and Arthur jumped, almost completely forgetting he was there.

"Arthur." He answered meekly, and Ollivander nodded, clasping his hands together and turning back to the other three.

"Who's next?"

And so began Dmitri's pile of unusable wands, which was unsurprisingly larger than Arthur's. While Lukas and Hassan watched, anxious for Dmitri to get a wand so that they could get their's, Arthur chased down his pirate ship and caught it after a few moments of trying.

"That was so cool." He muttered to himself, a goofy grin on his face as he looked proudly at the little thing he created. He wasn't surprised at all that the ship was a perfect scale model of the Queen Anne's Revenge.

"Way to go, little brother." He heard behind him, and he turned around to see Alistair standing behind him, a proud grin on his face instead of his normal pompous one. Arthur's cheeks tinted red in embarrassment, and he scowled half-heartedly at Alistair, trying not to smile.

"I guess." He muttered, and Alistair put on a look of fake hurt.

"Aww, are we all done being brothers now?" He asked sarcastically, and Arthur glared at him.

"Let's not forget…" He started, keeping his voice low. "When I was fifteen, I thought you were the coolest thing ever. But you're still an asshole." He growled, and Alistair snickered.

"Always will be." He chuckled, and Arthur sighed, just barely managing to dodge Dmitri's seventeenth wand, which decided to chuck itself at the wall, javelin style. Dmitri at least had the decency to look sorry about nearly impaling Arthur, even though he was trying desperately not to smile.

"Could you be…Hold on." Ollivander said abruptly after a brief moment of thought, and he ran back over to the shelf where he dug up Arthur's wand. He then promptly returned holding another box. "Here, this one seems to like you. Another one with a dual core, this time it's dragon heartstring and the hair of a Nightmare Horse. Very odd combination, but give it a shot. Willow, eleven and a half inches. Nice and rather pliable." Cautiously, Dmitri took it and a surprised look came over his face for a short moment, to be replaced by a look of newfound determination.

He waved it experimentally, and a fine golden mist spread out from the tip of his wand, taking only a few seconds to form into a flurry of bats, which then flew about the room, screeching and twittering before dissolving into the air.

Dmitri just grinned and moved to the front of the shop where Alistair and Arthur were waiting.

It took Lukas about twice as long as Dmitri to find a suitable wand, and his turned out to be another one with a double core.

"Twelve and a quarter inches, with a rather unusual wood as well as core. It's palm, which is very odd…troll whisker and the heartstring of a rather grumpy Norwegian Ridgeback…go on then!" He barked, seeing Lukas' disbelieving look. Troll whisker? He slumped his shoulders and sighed, resigning himself to his fate. He waved it disinterestedly, and to his surprise, a transparent green city appeared on the floor; one he recognized well. Asgard.

After a few moments of staring at the shimmering green city, it disappeared into smoke, and Lukas politely thanked Ollivander before hurrying over to Arthur and Dmitri, who were smirking triumphantly.

"I'm SO telling Mathias." Dmitri whispered loudly, winking at Lukas, who shoved him backwards in response. Now, it was just Hassan left, and it was obvious he wasn't so sure about this. After all, he knew he could do magic, but he'd never seen anything like this before. A whole community, hidden in plain sight! He was pretty nervous about the whole deal. What if he never got a wand? What if he spent the whole day here, trying and trying until every single box had been emptied and it had been decided that he wasn't magic enough?

Ollivander, deciding to be kind to the poor lad, just went straight for the dual cored wands this time. He came back after nearly three minutes of searching.

"Now, this one is one of the most unusual wands I have here. Cypruss tree, twelve inches, with the hair of a Chimera and supposedly, a scale of Apophis." Seeing Hassan's eyes widen in shock, he added, "Of course, Egypt's magical creatures are rare, and so this may just be a scale of a regular dragon. But just in case…" He mused, handing the now open box out to Hassan.

With trembling hands and sweat beading on his forehead, he took the wand out of the box. Before he could even wave it, three pyramids grew from the floor, and the temperature in the room increased suddenly. Seeing Hassan nearly melt in relief, Alistair cleared his throat as Ollivander began to mutter to himself again.

"How much for the lot?" He asked, digging his wallet out of his pocket.

"Hmm? Oh, thirty Galleons." Ollivander replied, and Alistair handed over the money and thanked him. They then left the shop, leaving Ollivander still muttering. Once fully back into the light of day (which Dmitri found curious, as it had been overcast before they entered the alley) Dmitri turned to Arthur.

"…My wand's longer than yours."

Alistair spent a good portion of time after that restraining Arthur, who looked on the verge of murdering the Romanian. In order to pacify him, he took the lot to Florence and Fortescue's for some ice-cream before dragging them to the next shop, which turned out to be Madam Malkins. Alistair did refuse to buy blood-red robes for Dmitri, and hurriedly got them out of there before someone blew something up. Hustling the four of them around Diagon Alley was a lot more work than Alistair had previously thought it would be, but luckily Lukas and Hassan still had some inkling of self-control left.

Hassan wished he was part spider. His neck was sore not five minutes into their journey from constantly swiveling back and forth between shops. At the very end of the street was a large, white marble building that gleamed and shined in the midday sun. Two red blotches stood guard on each side of the impressive doors, but he was too far away to really discern what they were.

"Gringotts." Alistair said, seeing Hassan staring avidly at the bank. Seeing the Egyptian's questioning look, Alistair explained, "It's a bank, run by goblins. Safest place in the magical world…besides Hogwarts, o'course." He said proudly, and Hassan blinked. Goblins? They actually had goblins here?

"You'd have to be insane to try and rob that bank." Dmitri suddenly cut in, still licking his strawberry ice cream cone avidly. "I heard they have dragons guarding the high security vaults; is that true?" He asked Alistair, his eyes gleaming in excitement. Alistair shrugged casually, but smirked in a way that set Hassan on edge.

"Why don't you go find out?" Alistair snarked, and Dmitri snorted and shook his head fervently.

"Not even I'm that nuts." He replied, and Alistair nodded.

"Good lad." He said with a faint smile, dragging the group off to the apothecary.

When they were crossing the wide cobblestone street, a group of teenage, giggly witches swept through the alley, all wearing pink t-shirt with The Salem Witches Institute printed on them. There was a brief scuffle trying to break through them, but the group of nations eventually did. Though, not all in the same spot.

Blushing horribly and wiping himself of dirt (he got knocked over in all the chaos), Dmitri looked around for the rest of his group.

But they weren't anywhere to be seen.

Dmitri looked left. He looked right. He looked to. He looked fro. He looked up and down and every direction he could from that one spot his legs were suddenly glued to, but he couldn't see his friends. Not even Alistair's brilliant red hair could be spotted above the crowd. Feeling a little bubble of panic well up in his chest, Dmitri focused on his breathing, running over a mental checklist in his head.

So…he was lost and alone in the middle of Diagon Alley, which was Arthur's magical thoroughfare. They were headed off to the apothecary…but Dmitri didn't know where that was. He didn't remember passing that shop on the way in. Was it just him, or did the street suddenly get much longer than it used to be?

Of course, his stubborn pride wouldn't let him ask for directions, and he seriously doubted that anyone would be willing to help him thanks to…well, looking the way he did. People were already shooting him distrusting looks as they walked, and he clenched his mouth shut to try and hide his fangs better. It really wasn't his fault his culture was so vampire-centric! He wasn't a vampire! Sagging his shoulders and sighing, Dmitri resigned himself to just walking around aimlessly until he was either found by Alistair or he found them first. Besides, his ice-cream cone was starting to melt.

Shoving a hand in his pocket, he strolled around, doing his best to ignore all the looks he was getting. He hung out for a while in front of the broom shop, staring at the latest models in quiet fascination. It was still weird to him; why on earth would you enchant a household cleaning instrument to fly? He never really understood that part. Like, why a broom? Why not a couch, or a bed so that you can lay down while you fly? He moved out of the way when a crowd of children surrounded the window, ogling at the brooms and pressing their faces against the glass. He saw that he was scaring them just by being there, he could easily see, and the parents were glaring at him pointedly. But he was used to that.

Soon, he finished his ice-cream cone. About halfway through it, he realized that picking strawberry flavor probably wasn't the wisest move on his part, considering the whole…vampire thing.

He loitered around inside Eyelops Owl Emporium, finding the hooting and rustling to be calming somehow. He really liked a particular barn owl and it seemed to return the favor, gently cooing and nipping at his fingers affectionately whenever Dmitri would stroke it through the golden bars of its cage. It was when he was occupied with the bird when it started.

He heard the small noise of a throat clearing behind him, but assumed that whoever it was had been trying to get somebody else's attention. After all, nobody would probably be caught dead talking to him in public.

There was relative silence for a while, but then, a sharp pain shot through his arm and he let out a strangled scream as he was jerked away from his owl. His head turned to see the man who was working behind the counter earlier glaring daggers into his soul, the man's fingernails digging into the flesh on his forearm. The pain was starting to make Dmitri's eyes water, but he stood his ground.

"What do you think you're doing to me birds, freak?" The man (his nametag identified him as Roy) snarled, shaking Dmitri roughly and making him whimper and bite his lip in agony. Dmitri's head was reeling from the shock and pain, and he didn't quite comprehend Roy's words at first.

"F-Frea…? Wha?" Dmitri mumbled, and Roy's blue eyes hardened, his face turning purple in rage.

"Damn right you're a freak. We don't serve your kind here! Who let you in anyways? Vampires ain't allowed past the archway, monster." Roy shouted, and it all clicked in Dmitri's head. Oh. Ooohhhh. Dmitri's eyes began to water with much more than pain now, but he tried to yank himself away, but Roy had a grip like iron. Glancing around in panic, Dmitri spotted a family of three standing by the counter; a small girl and her parents. Suddenly, it all made sense.

The father was looking at Dmitri with smug satisfaction, his arms crossed haughtily over his chest. The mother was staring at him in fear and revulsion, and the little girl was watching him in terrified curiosity. He had been scaring the girl.

Roy snapped Dmitri's attention back to the real problem by reaching into his pocket and grabbing something. Something shiny…Dmitri's eyes widened in horror. Who the hell carried a knife on them in an Owl store?!

Dmitri's long instilled fight-or-flight instincts immediately kicked in his panic, and he began to shout and struggle and curse with all his might. He felt a pang of guilt go through his heart when he saw the little girl shrink back behind her parents, terrified of him, but what could he do? He would never take something like this lying down! This Roy guy was clearly overreacting! He was just petting an owl! He knew what he looked like, but…it wasn't his fault.

"Roy, what's all the-?" A new person who was wearing the staff uniform poked their head out of the back room, obviously trying to figure out what exactly Roy was screaming about. When they saw Roy, holding a knife to the throat of a teenager, his eyes widened in horror, but they immediately hardened when they saw exactly what that teenager was. The other staff member immediately drew his wand, and Dmitri gasped.

"No! This is just a misunder-! No! I'm not a vam-!" He shouted desperately, trying with renewed vigor to escape Roy's grip. His shirt ripped along the sleeve from his efforts, but Roy was anything but letting go as he raised the knife.

White-hot pain raced up and down Dmitri's arm, the knife slicing through his flesh as though it was butter, and he screamed, stars exploding in front of his eyes.

Outside the Emporium, passerby were stopping and staring in horror at the dark shop. They couldn't see what was happening inside, but there was an awful amount of screaming and shouting coming from the interior. Was a Death Eater attacking? None of them knew, but they certainly weren't staying long enough to find out, and they quickly continued on their way, not wanting to get involved.

However, one particular plump, red-haired woman stuck around longer than most, her heart and mind debating furiously against each other. The screams that were emanating from the Emporium were obviously that of a young boy, and being the mother of six boys, couldn't ignore it. But on the other hand, if it really were Death Eaters in there, sticking her nose in wouldn't be the best idea.

Without warning, the screams doubled in volume and frequency, and she couldn't stand by anymore. Dropping her luggage on the pavement and rolling up her sleeves, grabbing her wand as she did so, she set off towards the shop.

Before she could even reach the door, it slammed open by itself with a mighty bang, startling both the pedestrians on the street and the birds inside. A thick, burly man, holding a bloody knife in his left hand and a strawberry blonde teenager in his right appeared in the threshold. Roaring with fury, the man threw the teen hard onto the pavement, brandishing the knife as a warning.

"And don't come back, freak!" Roy spat, slamming the door behind him as he disappeared back into his store. The teen didn't say anything, simply scrambling to his feet, tears shining in his eyes and on his face. Rage boiled in Molly Weasley as she saw the torn shirt, the blood coating the teen's right arm, his disheveled hair, teary eyes, and all the blood on his back.

"How dare he…!" Molly hissed to herself as she watched Dmitri solemnly wipe his face dry with his intact sleeve, using his left arm to pinch the two halves of his shirt together. Passerby were staring openly and unashamedly at his misery, but not helping, and a protective urge overcame Molly.

"What are you lookin' at?" Dmitri mumbled when he saw her staring, trying to muster up a glare but failing. Molly's eyes softened, and she walked towards him slowly, noticing the way he traced her every move with his eyes, no doubt thinking she was going to hurt him as well.

"Are you alright?" She asked him softly, and he chuckled darkly, giving her a half-hearted shrug.

"What'd you think? I'm fine." He said just as quietly, his voice devoid of any emotions yet still shaking. He turned away from her, shakily walking away. "Jus' leave me alone…" He added, and Molly's heart twisted painfully in sympathy. Grabbing her dropped bags, she quickly caught up to his brisk pace. He glanced at her nervously when he saw her following him, but looked away as soon as she tried to catch his gaze.

"Why don't you let me get you something? You look like you could use a cheer-up right about now." She tried, and he grimaced as a couple glared at him pointedly.

"No thanks." He mumbled, wiping his face again after a fresh wave of tears. "Listen, if you know what's good for you, you should stay away from me…" He told her quietly, and Molly blinked.

"Why?" She asked in confusion, and he snorted.

"Don't want to be seen with a vampire." He said, gesturing to his fangs with his free hand, wincing as the movement agitated his wound.

"At least let me clean that up for you." Molly offered, holding up her wand. Dmitri sighed, tired and pissed and so not up for this. True, the thought that at least somebody cared warmed him slightly, but not enough. This was why nobody ever saw him anymore. This was why he never went to meetings and barely left his home, why he had no real friends besides Arthur, Lukas, (maybe Hassan?), and Alfred, why he couldn't stand looking into a mirror anymore. He was scared. Terrified.

"No, that's okay. I'm…used to this kind of thing." He sighed, swiping his fringe out of his red eyes. Admitting it –especially out loud- made the storm inside him even worse. Molly scowled, understanding the real meaning behind his words. To be honest, it wasn't until he made the vampire comment that she even noticed his fangs and red eyes. She knew what real vampires looked like, and he didn't even come close. "I…I just want to find my friends and leave."

Molly humphed, pulling out her wallet and checking it avidly. She had enough, but what she had was still a meager amount, and it would definitely put a strain on their expenses for a while, but it would be worth it.

"What's your name, sweetie?" She asked gently, and he sniffed.

"Dmitri." He replied shortly, and she put on her most caring smile.

"I'm Molly Weasley. Now tell me Dmitri, if you could have anything from this street, what would it be?"

Dmitri stopped dead in his tracks, looking at her with pure concern in his eyes.

"Y-You don't have to…I'm fine, really." He insisted, but she waved him off, glaring at him and placing her hands on her hips. Dmitri cowered under her stern gaze, her posture and attitude reminding him strongly of Hungary.

"You most certainly are not fine. Do you honestly plan to parade around in a torn shirt that's caked in blood all day?" She scolded, and he shifted uncomfortably, his back still burning and stinging horribly. His arm wasn't the only thing Roy cut with the knife…Molly grabbed him by the shoulders, staring at him in genuine worry.

"Please, let me help you. I've got six boys, and I know how stubborn they can be, so please." She whispered, and Dmitri hastily wiped away more tears with his shoulder, her kindness reaching to him in a way he couldn't explain in words. Molly took that as an okay, and pulled out her wand to begin cleaning him up.

"Not here." Dmitri suddenly whispered, grabbing her wrist in…was that fear or shame in his eyes? "You can help, just….not here." He elaborated, glancing around the street and the staring wizards and witches. He seemed to shrink into himself as he noticed all the stares and furious looks he was getting. This was without a doubt one of the worst days of his life so far, and he was just too tired to argue with this Molly Weasley anymore.

Molly looked befuddled, but nodded nonetheless, and let Dmitri lead her into a secluded alleyway. He sighed, self-consciously shrugging off what remained of his shirt. Molly mended it and cleaned it to the best of her ability, Dmitri staring pointedly at the ground behind her, melting into the shadows. When his shirt was cleaned, she turned to Dmitri.

"Now let me clean those wounds." She said, gesturing for him to come closer. Dmitri's eyes widened, and he shook his head, taking a step back in fright.

"Y-You don't…"

"Dmitri…" She warned, and he sighed, taking tiny steps towards her, his arms wrapped around himself. She didn't see what he was so worried about until he turned around. She gasped in horror and anger, her eyes screaming bloody murder as she started seeing red in her rage.

Carved into Dmitri's back with a practiced hand was the word. The word he hated with all his heart, the dreaded word that followed him, haunted him, everywhere he went, no matter what the circumstance. The word that started this whole mess in the first place.

_** FREAK**_

"Dmitri…" Molly breathed, and he flinched, trembling terribly.

"Don't." He whispered, as though he could sense her oncoming sympathies and condolences. When she opened her mouth again to argue, he shamefully dipped his head to the side. "Just don't."

Molly sighed but nevertheless said nothing, knowing how hurt he had to be. She set about cleaning and dressing his wounds in an awkward silence. Though she tried her best, those cuts were going to scar, leaving that horrible word burned onto him for the rest of his life. When she was done here, she was going to march right back to Eyelops and utterly murder that man who did this to him. Who would do this to a child? Dmitri seemed so shy and sweet, there was no way he had been doing something to warrant that kind of punishment. If that man treated him like this just because of the way he looked…!

When she was done, Dmitri slipped his shirt back on, awkwardly shuffling back and forth.

"Thank you." He finally said, not quite sure what to say to this kind, strange woman who cared so much about him. Before he could blink three times, she swept him into a gentle hug, holding him close, and it took all of Dmitri's self-control not to break down crying right then and there.

"It was nothing." She smiled, pulling away, and he blushed pointedly, looking at the ground again. Already in his mind he was going over various ways to thank her properly for her kindness. "One last thing, Dmitri." She said suddenly, rifling through her wallet. "Have you got yourself a pet?" She asked, and he sighed, wanting to deny her kindness again, but knowing by now that she would insist.

"No…" He admitted, knowing that even if he said yes, she would probably buy him something else.

"Well if you come with me you'll soon have one." Molly grinned, grabbing his wrist and practically dragging him out of the alleyway towards the Magical Menagerie. They got plenty of weird looks, especially Dmitri, but one glare from Molly would put the pedestrian in their place.

Twenty minutes later, the two of them emerged, Dmitri with a cardboard box with holes poked in it, and Molly with a significantly lighter wallet. Despite how shitty his day had been, Dmitri was still grinning from ear to ear. He couldn't stop thanking her, much to her amusement. As they started their way towards the Apothecary, Dmitri was suddenly tackled by Arthur.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU EVERYWHERE ARE YOU ALRIGHT JESUS CHRIST DMITRI DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I'VE BEEN ALISTAIR IS WORRIED SICK AND I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD WANDER OFF LIKE THAT WHEN YOU KNOW THE SITUATION AND OH MY GOD-!" Arthur screamed, all in one breath. Dmitri looked down at the Brit who was clinging to him desperately and grinned a bit. Lukas and Hassan then rounded the corner, Hassan breaking into a grin when he saw Dmitri, and Lukas giving an almost audible sigh of relief.

"Hey Arthur." Dmitri said, a bit more subdued than normal, and Molly cleared her throat.

"Are these the friends you were talking about?" She asked, her eyes twinkling in amusement and Dmitri blushed again and nodded, trying with difficulty to pull Arthur off of him and hold his box at the same time.

"Are you okay?" Lukas asked bluntly, noticing that Dmitri's eyes were puffy and tinged with red, his skin paler than normal, his tousled hair, and most importantly, his sad demeanor. Dmitri didn't do sad. "And I swear to Odin, if you say you're 'fine', I will cut you open with a rake." He added, seeing Dmitri practically close in on himself. Dmitri sighed, knowing that he was going to have to tell him sooner or later, just…not now.

"I'm better now at least." Dmitri answered, smiling at Molly, and it was her turn to blush.

"It was nothing." She smiled at Lukas, who nodded politely at her as though he just noticed her there. Dmitri finally succeeded in prying Arthur away from his person, only to have Hassan take his place. Luckily, Hassan just gave him a quick 'I missed you' hug instead of a crushing death grip like Arthur. Love for his friends swelled in Dmitri's chest, and he held it back with difficulty.

"Where's Alistair?" Dmitri asked Lukas, since Arthur was still muttering to himself and wringing his hands.

"He went to search Knockturn Alley for you. He should be back any-"

"DMITRI!" Alistair's voice suddenly thundered and Dmitri barely had time to even turn around before he was pulled into a bone-crushing, cinnamon smelling hug. Alistair knocked the box Dmitri was carrying out of his hands, but luckily Lukas caught it before it could slam into the cobblestone street. Whatever was inside mewled in annoyance. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT NO YOU ARE NOT I CAN TELL YOU'RE HURT AREN'T YOU I'M SO GLAD I FOUND YOU YOUR SISTERS WOULD HAVE KILLED ME!" Alistair shouted, much like his younger brother.

"F-Fine…need….air!" Dmitri gasped, struggling for breath in Alistair's iron grip. Alistair looked up to see a very confused yet entertained Molly Weasley, who blushed when she saw how handsome he was. Letting Dmitri go suddenly, he walked up to her, grinning widely.

"You helped him didn't you?" Alistair deduced aloud, and Molly nodded shyly, twirling her hair. Alistair took her hand and kissed it in gratitude, and Molly giggled like a little schoolgirl. Lukas rolled his eyes and Arthur pretended to vomit onto the sidewalk, which made Hassan snicker uncontrollably. Tuning out Alistair and Molly, who were now arguing over whether or not Molly deserved payment for helping Dmitri, Lukas looked down at the box in his arms. Whatever was inside was fairly light, like a puppy, and was shifting around, poking a wet black nose out of the holes in the box and sniffing curiously.

"What's in here, Dmitri?" He asked aloud, and Dmitri jumped, startled. Arthur, Lukas, and Hassan all gave him strange looks; since when was Dmitri surprised when people talked to him? Arthur and Hassan shared a dark look. Whatever happened to him when they got separated affected him in the worst way, and by Dobby's socks, they were going to find out what happened. They could see it in his eyes. He was scared. Behind that crimson fire and energy he always had in his eyes was terror and something even worse. Sadness. And the way he kept glancing over his shoulder and gripping at his left arm…

Fear and depression clashed so badly with Romania's normal personality that it was making all of them queasy just being near him.

Recovering quickly, Dmitri smiled brightly, taking the box back from Lukas.

"It's a baby Zburator." He said proudly, and Arthur's massive eyebrows shot up into his hairline. A Zburator? Blimey, he hadn't seen one of those in about two centuries! He thought they'd gone extinct. Judging by the look on Lukas' face, he thought so too. Hassan just had a confused frown. Seeing this, Arthur explained.

"They're like a cross between dragons and wolves. If I'm correct, they used to be a symbol of power and nobility in Romania." He said, straining his mind, and Dmitri nodded.

"That, and they look really cool." He said happily, sticking his fingers into one of the holes and stroking the pup lovingly. It purred gently at him, and he smiled.

"I thought you would have gotten a bat…" Lukas frowned. The reaction was immediate. Dmitri's whole body stiffened, his eyes widened, and he went drastically pale. As much as he wished it to, this reaction did not go unnoticed by his friends, who all scowled. Who the hell would do this to him? They knew him, and they all knew, without a doubt, that he hadn't been doing anything to warrant mistreatment. He was mischievous, sure, but never cruel.

"W-Well…I was going to…but…" Dmitri whispered, but whatever he was going to say was cut off by Alistair, clapped his hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"We still got loads a shopping to do, so shall we go?" He quipped cheerfully, and Arthur glared at him viciously, growling at the hand on his shoulder with eyes full of hate. Dmitri nodded, grateful for the interruption, though the remaining scowl on Lukas' face told him that he was going to have to explain at some point.

Arthur seemed to be adamant on getting an owl, (his last one died a few months ago. A moment of silence for Lancelot; he will always be in our hearts.) but Dmitri point blank refused to go inside Eyelops with the group. He wouldn't explain why, though the rest of them had a sneaking suspicion that this store was part of the reason why Dmitri was suddenly so scared to be out in public. In fact, the Romanian refused point blank to even be near the store. Seeing the Dmitri was not going to budge in his horror, he gave him a handful of Galleons and sent him and Hassan to buy cauldrons while Arthur shopped for his bird.

"Stop looking at me like that, Hassan." Dmitri finally sighed when they walked out of the store, four collapsible pewter cauldrons stuffed into Alistair's hammerspace backpack. Ironically, Alistair had styled the pack like the TARDIS. All the UK brothers were incredibly fond (and jealous) of the bag. Though he could say nothing, the stare Hassan had been boring into the back of Dmitri's head was driving him up the wall. He wanted to be alone right now. He wanted to go home and curl up with his cat, call up Bulgaria and drink his troubles away. But he was fifteen now and didn't know how to get back to normal, which meant no alcohol until the end of the school year.

Hassan shot him a very demanding look, and Dmitri scowled.

"No, I'm not saying what happened. Not now. Not here." He hissed, and Hassan coolly raised an eyebrow. "You can't make me tell." He growled, and Hassan rolled his eyes, making a face at him. "Not happening." Dmitri replied, quickly walking to where Alistair now stood, tapping his foot impatiently.

"You got everything?" He asked, and Dmitri nodded, looking curiously at the barn owl perched on Arthur's shoulder, which was grooming his hair affectionately.

"Dmitri, Hassan, this is Gwen." Arthur announced proudly, and the owl hooted in greeting.

"Must you always name your owls after characters of Arthurian legend?" Lukas muttered, but the corner of his lip was twitching upwards. Arthur nodded adamantly, and Alistair smirked. Wow, did he miss Guinevere. She was damn hot for girls in that era…

"Anything else we need?" Lukas asked, and Alistair scratched his chin, pulling the list from his jacket pocket.

"Ye got yer robes, wands, cauldrons…ye still need textbooks, potion starter kits, a star map for Astronomy, and…oh yeah, Lukas and Hassan still need pets." He said to himself. Lukas was about to protest that he didn't want a pet since he had his troll, but he knew better than to argue against Alistair. Hassan perked up at that. He wasn't allowed to bring Anubis to Hogwarts, since she got skittish around crowds.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. Dmitri was uncharacteristically silent for the whole three hours they spent there, only quietly pointing out items in shops and talking to his Zburator in Romanian. Everyone kept shooting him concerned glances, and he was obviously getting fed up with it. As the day went on, he got quieter and quieter, until he didn't say a word, even when they asked him questions or tried to make small talk.

Arthur, being the expert in body language that he was, noted every little thing Dmitri did, everything that was so unbearable NOT Dmitri.

He kept his shoulders hunched in at all times, his red eyes fixed firmly on his sneakers. Occasionally he would grab on to Hassan or Alistair's sleeve and follow the group like that, because he refused to look up, even to see where he was going. Hassan was worried, but didn't seem to mind this behavior. Alistair on the other hand would give him a very, very surprised and concerned look, becoming flustered, but he would let Dmitri hang on for as long as he wanted. Every time Dmitri did this, Arthur and Lukas would share looks, letting their eyes speak for them.

_Why does he do that?_

_ He's scared, Arthur. _

_ I know, but…of what?_

_ I think it's a who, actually. Do you see the way he's sticking close to Alistair? _

_ Yeah, but why? _

_ Because…I think, because Alistair is the adult here. The protector. _

_ Oh come on, since when did DMITRI need protection? _

_ You and I both know that Alistair is an ass, but he takes care of those under his care and guards them with his life. Dmitri knows that too. _

_ He's been avoiding everyone on this street besides us. He won't get within two feet of anyone else, did you notice?_

_ Duh. _

_ When I get my hands on whoever did this to him…_

_ I pity that person. Because they have you, me, and Alistair to deal with._

_ What about Hassan? _

_ I don't know. He's hard to read. _

"If you two could stop eyeballing each other, we're here." Alistair grumbled, pointing to the Magical Menagerie. He handed Lukas and Hassan thirty Galleons each, but went inside with them nonetheless to make sure they didn't buy anything that could kill. This left Arthur and Dmitri outside the shop, Dmitri still holding his cub and Arthur with Gwen still perched on his shoulder. While they waited Arthur had a frown on his face the entire time, watching Dmitri slowly shrink in on himself. Every time a shopper passed by the two, Dmitri would duck his head and not-so-subtly hide behind Arthur.

"Dmitri, stop it." Arthur growled, shoving Dmitri back out from behind him, a bit too roughly perhaps. Dmitri said nothing. "And stop that whole silence thing. Hassan is already mute, and you and I both know Lukas is a terrible conversation partner." He said, trying for a joke, but Dmitri didn't smile. And he still said nothing.

Arthur hated this. He could clearly see Dmitri collapsing inwards, becoming more and more withdrawn with every word Arthur spoke. He felt like grabbing Dmitri by the shoulders and screaming in his face, but he knew that would only make it worse.

"Dmitri, why the hell won't you speak?" Arthur demanded, putting his hands on his hips in a way so similar to Alistair and Molly Weasley that Dmitri almost smiled. But he couldn't find the energy. He could barely stand right now. He wanted to be alone. What was the point of explaining? They wouldn't understand. Their citizens smile and wave and flock to them, not spit on them and avoid them like the plague. People were never scared of them.

"Why won't you ever tell us what's wrong?" Arthur asked softly, but Dmitri kept his face deathly blank, like a corpse. He doesn't understand. He will never understand. His citizens never tied him up and tried to burn him at the stake. They never tied his limbs together and tied rocks to his feet and threw him in a lake. Arthur never had his stomach cut open, his insides replaced with stones and tossed over a cliff. They couldn't know what he'd been through. They couldn't understand. He wanted to be alone.

Every last memory Dmitri had of his own people hating him and hurting him was flooding through his mind like a tsunami and it made him want to scream until his throat bled. How could Arthur know? How could any of them know?

That's why he liked his Zburator so much, even though he just met him. The cub didn't care what he looked like. The cub loved him no matter what.

Dmitri was saved by a full-on interrogation when Lukas and Hassan exited the store, Alistair close behind them. Lukas was holding a snow white monkey-like creature with large tusks, Hassan had simply chosen a black cat. He was normally a dog person, but he loved cats a lot. Alistair, surprisingly, was holding a birdcage with a white cloth over it, smugly grinning at all of them like he just found Atlantis.

"To the Leaky Cauldron."

* * *

**A/N: Now, if you think I'm laying on the angst too thickly, I agree, but to be honest, people in the dark ages were terrified of anything that looked mildly evil, like say...people with red eyes. In a time where the church ruled, red eyes were demonic, so people's reactions to Dmitri back then were considered normal. (I have nothing against the church, I'm just pointing this out; people were very superstitious back then.)**

**So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Ugly? Potato? **

**Review please! I love you all! Thanks for taking the time to read this! **

**Draco dormiens nunquam convehunt, filli.**


	2. Jump

**A/N: Swiggity Swapter here's another chapter**

**This did take longer than I had originally planned, and I'm sorry for that, but I hope its up to your standards. There's a lot of jumping around in this chapter, but this is basically everyone getting ready for Hogwarts and Dmitri getting his life back. **

**There's some UK brother fluff here, and the appearance of the Hero!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

As soon as Alistair bought their rooms, the five of them headed straight upstairs to set down all their luggage and empty out the hammerspace bag. Lukas' little monkey, who turned out to be a baby Yeti, had its arms wrapped around his neck and was hanging there lazily, occasionally chittering and ruffling Lukas' hair, so the entire backside of Lukas' head was spiked and messy, much to his chagrin.

Hassan's new cat was resting around his shoulders like a scarf, and whatever was in Alistair's birdcage was mewling. Alistair had rented three rooms; one for himself, and two for the four teenagers. Unfortunately, all three rooms only had one bed each, so the four kids would have to share with someone else, which they didn't mind. Arthur and Lukas took one room, so Hassan and Dmitri took the other. Which was awkward for both Hassan and Dmitri, since Dmitri was still not talking to anyone. The moment they entered the room, Dmitri let his Zburator out of the box and then promptly crawled under the bed, taking all the blankets with him.

Hassan blinked in confusion, but removed his cat from his shoulders and began to pack his trunk, which Alistair had pulled (with some difficulty) out of the TARDIS bag. The cat, whom he mentally named Hara, began to sniff the Zburator cub interestedly. Hassan sat down on the edge of his bed when he was finished packing, folding his hands and thinking.

Now, he didn't know Dmitri all that well; the Romanian never came to meetings anymore, and Egypt didn't get out much in the first place. But from what he'd seen and based on what others told him, Dmitri was usually loud, boisterous, mischievous, and carefree. And that's what he had been like at the beginning of the day.

What happened to him?

It was so quiet, he could barely detect the sound, but from under the bed, he heard tiny sobs. His eyebrows shot into his keffiyeh in surprise. Was he actually hearing this? He jumped off the bed and landed hard on his knees, looking under the bed, worry practically pouring off him in waves.

Dmitri could actually _feel _Hassan's pity. He didn't know how, he just _could._ It was pounding, smothering, like a giant's heartbeat. He wanted to scream. He didn't want Hassan to pity him. He wanted him to _stop_. It _hurt._ Why did it hurt? The feeling clung to Hassan's entire body like a cloak and Dmitri wanted nothing more than to just make it _go away._

**_ LEAVE ME ALONE_**

Hassan yelped internally. That voice –Dmitri's voice- was inside his head, screaming at him! That shouldn't be possible! Did wizards normally do that?! Getting over his surprise as quickly as he could, he looked back at Dmitri. He had all the blankets that were on the bed wrapped around him like a chrysalis, so only his eyes showed. Hassan leaned back a bit in fear. Dmitri's eyes were glowing. Glowing with power.

**_I WANT TO BE ALONE_**

**_GO AWAY_**

Hassan didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed Hara and the Zburator cub and ran out the door as fast as he could, his body being wracked with…something. Powerful waves were pulsing off Dmitri, stealing Hassan's breath and making it hard to run away. It felt like…having someone else's heart shoved in next to yours – crushing your lungs, using your blood, its heartbeat out of sync with yours and making it so very, very hard to think. The waves didn't feel evil, they just felt…sad, and lonely.

But damn, they hurt. They burned, into his very soul, and he felt guilty…about something. He didn't know what.

When he finally reached the door and sprinted out of the room, he nearly ran face-first into Alistair's broad chest. Alistair barely had time to give him a grunt of recognition before running into the bedroom; he had felt Dmitri giving off tiny emotional magic bursts ever since they got separated, but Dmitri had been keeping it under control…until now. Arthur and Lukas were hot on Alistair's heels, but Alistair shouted,

"You two give Hassan a magic check! Make sure he's not hurt!" Arthur and Lukas stopped, wanting to go in and help, but like everyone here, knew better than to argue with Alistair. They brought Hassan and the animals into their bedroom, leaving Dmitri to Alistair, no matter how much they wanted to help. Despite how much it hurt them to leave their friend.

**_GO AWAY_**

Alistair grimaced, the waves of raw energy surprisingly strong. He could actually see bright red waves bouncing off the walls, slamming into the bed and the cabinets and the wardrobe, making the whole room tremble. The window was cracking. He could hear them; a pounding, beating heartbeat, so bloody and raw and ALIVE that Alistair nearly fell to his knees from the pressure; a muggle would have died from simply being in the building.

But Alistair wasn't the most powerful wizard in history for nothing.

He built up his own waves, not even bothering to use his wand like he normally did when using this ancient, near-forgotten form of magic. He used his own emotions, calling on his rage and his fear and his hope, releasing in a pattern opposite to Dmitri's. He slowly, painstakingly slowly beat Dmitri's waves back into his body. He did so with anger, yelling and screaming with the raw energy inside him to knock Dmitri into submission.

Then, it was gone. Dmitri couldn't make the waves anymore, his body completely enveloped in Alistair's rage. Alistair's eyes softened; with the pulses gone, he could hear. He could hear Dmitri sobbing under the bed, whimpering and crying and choking out words the Scot couldn't hear. Alistair sighed…this wasn't really his forte, dealing with kids –that was normally Wales' job- but…

He slowly changed the anger into comfort, sending, soft gentle waves of calm instead, slowly releasing Dmitri from the anger's grip as he did so. Dmitri didn't even resist, didn't try to send out anymore pulses of energy. He just kept crying. While Alistair normally found the sound of crying to be annoying and grating on his ears, today, he found it heartbreaking.

"Come out from under the bed, Dmitri." He called softly, softer than he would ever admit, getting on his hands and knees to see Dmitri's trembling form. Two teary red eyes looked back at him, nearly hidden by a mess of strawberry blonde hair and the tangle of blankets.

"Why?" Dmitri whispered hoarsely, and Alistair shifted into sitting cross legged by the bed instead of crouching down like this –bad back in his age. Alistair patted the spot in front of him, and Dmitri shyly scooted forwards. Alistair waited until Dmitri was kneeling in front of him, still wrapped up in his cocoon of sheets and comforters.

"What did they do to you?" Alistair asked quietly, and Dmitri choked out a sob, drawing his blankets closer around himself but saying nothing. "Dmitri, answer me." Alistair insisted, and Dmitri shook his head violently, finally cracking and sobbing and screaming and-

Alistair gently grabbed Dmitri's head, pressing their foreheads together. He closed his eyes and concentrated, letting his mind flow into Dmitri's head. He found no resistance, and so continued, probing through Dmitri's recent memories.

What he found made his temper finally boil over.

His rage exploded out of him, shattering the window and blowing the door off its hinges and into hallway wall, cracking the mirror. In the room next door, Arthur, Lukas, and Hassan were cringing as they heard Dmitri crying, but when the rage wave hit them, they all immediately dropped onto their stomachs on the floor, the sheer power crushing them and making them tear up in fear.

**_KILL HIM_**

Alistair roared in their heads, and they all started shaking in terror. All their pets had retreated under the bed, even Guin, huddling together and trembling.

"Hoo daur he!" Alistair screamed, his accent becoming thicker and thicker in his fury. Dmitri, who had been getting a hold on his emotions while Alistair relived the memories, promptly burst into tears once more. Alistair immediately sobered up, reigning in his rage. Right. Calm Dmitri down first, murder Roy later.

He sent out calm again, awkwardly holding Dmitri on his lap as he rocked back and forth. He ran his fingers through Dmitri's hair, trying to remember what calmed Arthur down when he had a nightmare. If anybody walked in on this though, he'd wipe their memory. When Dmitri was calm enough, Alistair gently rubbed Dmitri's back for two reasons; one, he knew it helped himself to relax on bad days; second he could feel the word carved into Dmitri's back. When Alistair did this, Dmitri stiffened, but Alistair sent out more calm waves and he relaxed again.

He saw Dmitri's memories from Dmitri's perspective, so he didn't really know at first what Roy had done; all he got after Roy pulled out the knife was terror and confusion and self-hatred. And blood. So much blood.

God, he was going to absolutely murder that man tomorrow. Why tomorrow? Because he was tired. As soon as he was fully rested and awake, he would kill him. Alistair's brain was already racing with the most terrible ways to murder someone that he could think of…he was particularly fond of the one that involved…what were those things called again? Blast-Ended Skrewts? Yes…those things, a violin, and Arthur's scones. It's the perfect murder.

"Alistair? Is everything o-" Too late, Alistair heard Arthur's shy voice, and he whipped his head around so fast he tweaked a nerve to see Arthur poking his head into the room. He panicked and magically realigned the door with the frame, sending it zooming from its spot embedded against the wall into Arthur's head.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" He heard Arthur scream from his new spot (AKA: on his arse in the hallway), and surprisingly he could also hear Lukas chuckling at Arthur's pain. Glancing down at Dmitri, who had fallen into a deep sleep thanks to Alistair's constant calm and gentle rocking, Alistair decided it was safe to yell back.

"She's your mum too, idjit!" He shouted back, slowly and carefully standing up, shifting his grip so that he was carrying Dmitri bridal-style. He set Dmitri down on the bed, making sure to untangle him from his cocoon of blankets afterwards so Hassan would have some for himself. Almost as soon as Alistair set him down, Dmitri whimpered and buried his face in his pillow, hugging it with both arms like it was a person.

Alistair sighed. Poor kid…no, that wasn't the right word. Children who were treated like that grew up too fast. More to the point, he was actually somewhat surprised and impressed that Dmitri had managed to keep his calm for as long as he did. He was dealing with a tsunami of feelings, not to mention considerable blood loss. Alistair knew that rest would help with that, but he would still make sure to have some water and food ready for when Dmitri wakes up.

With that thought, he stood up straight again, brushed off his jeans, and left the room. Immediately after he left the room and shut the door behind him, he was assaulted by a barrage of worried questions from Arthur, the occasional casual inquiry from Lukas, and a whole plethora of facial expressions from Hassan, half of which Alistair wasn't even aware existed. He held up his hand to stop the flow of concern.

"Do not ask him about what happened today. Do not force him to tell you either. If he wants to let you know, he will do so on his own time. Do not try to Legilimens your way into his mind. I am the only one of us who knows the atrocity committed, and I am the only one who needs to know, seeing as how I'm in charge of you lot." He said calmly, but burning with quiet rage at the same time. He glared at all of them, and waited until he got a spoken promise from each teenager. Then, he fixed the hole in the wall where the door had been blown into, stomped into his own room, and shut the door.

The three remaining teenagers stood awkwardly in the middle of the hall, trying to come up with scenarios that would be bad enough that Alistair would refuse to tell them about it. They stood there in silence, not quite sure what to say, until Lukas spoke up.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but that only made me want to know even more." He sighed, and Arthur and Hassan both nodded.

"But we promised not to ask. And I know what happens when you don't keep your promises towards him…" Arthur stopped midsentence to shudder, "and I have no wish to experience that ever again."

Hassan raised his eyebrows, not quite sure what that meant, but followed Lukas and Arthur into their room for the time being, glad to let Dmitri be alone and rest. Hara jumped on his shoulders once more, meowing softly into his ears. He chuckled and scratched her under the chin, thinking and wondering to himself. If this is what the Magic Trio normally acted like, he wasn't sure if he was ready for a whole year with them. But it would at least be a year he was bound to remember.

* * *

Alistair shut his door behind him, leaving the three teens by themselves in the middle of the hall. Rubbing a hand down his face in exhaustion, he trudged over to the wardrobe, only grunting when the mirror told him that his hair was messy. Digging through his coat's pockets (he had been hanging it up when Dmitri lost it), he found his pack of cigarettes and his lighter. He lit himself one, flopping onto the four-posted bed on his back, and folded his hands behind his head. For a handful of minutes, all he did was scowl at the ceiling…he found himself doing that quite often these days.

Who the hell did Roy think he was? Attacking Dmitri because of the way he looked and that alone! Yes, tensions were high with the riff between the Ministry and Dumbledore's influence, but that didn't mean that it was okay to go ape-shit and attack people –children, no less!- in a public area. Thank Nessie for that Molly Weasley. Alistair smirked to himself, imagining the look of surprise on her face when she next visited her Gringotts vault. He had his own vast treasure trove in the bank, larger than any other account in record, so he could afford to, oh let's say, donate a couple thousand Galleons to the Weasley vault. He had even taken the care to put a sticky note on the pile of gold closest to the door so she was sure of the cause.

But it just got his blood absolutely boiling to think about that shopkeeper. No wonder Dmitri hadn't even wanted to be near the store. As the adult, he should have kept them all together, dammit. It was his job to look after them now, even if they didn't want his help. This could turn out to be more tiring than he thought…

No matter, he thought to himself, his smirk growing as he lifted his right hand into the air and ignited a tiny flame, holding it in his palm like a candle. He needed their help just as much as they would need his. And with the way things were looking right now, it wouldn't be long before this whole plan went up in smoke.

So, he grinned, crushing that little flame, he would just have to get his job done before that happens.

* * *

Arthur had a cheery old time of it, showing off Diagon Alley to Hassan and Lukas while they waited for the school year to begin. Lukas had his own magical streets back in Norway, but he always found it fun to visit other, new places, even if the basic layout was the same. Hassan, on the other hand, practically bounded everywhere on the balls of his heels. It was all Arthur and Lukas could do just to keep up with him, and as strange as it was, it made them smile to see such a normally quiet and stoic nation act so childish.

Dmitri stayed in the Leaky Cauldron. He never left the room Alistair rented for him. When the other three teenagers came back for the nights, they found him in the exact same spot he had been in the mornings when they'd left. Curled up in the closet in a nest of blankets. At least, that's what he was like for the first handful of days; practically comatose. Of course, this left Hassan in a very awkward position since the two of them shared a room. After a while though, Dmitri got some of his old fire back. Well, he was reading books on top of the bed and actually talking to them when they came back. On the seventh day, he even smiled. But he still refused to go outside, whether it was Muggle London or Diagon Alley they ventured to, and nobody tried to make him.

Alistair still wouldn't tell them what happened either.

And none of them dared to ask, if it meant he was going to return to that awful, half-dead state. He was literally a vegetable. They couldn't quite tell what made him get better, but they liked to think it was them. Even if he refused to talk back those first couple days, they always came back to the hotel with treats for his Zburator cub, telling him all the stories about what they did and saw that day.

"Dmitri! We're back!" Arthur announced loudly and unnecessarily when they returned to the Leaky Cauldron nine days after they first arrived. Dmitri glanced up, looking terrified when Arthur threw open the bedroom door, but upon seeing who it was, immediately relaxed and smiled. He carefully placed a bookmark in between the pages of the novel he had been reading, setting the book on the nightstand.

"You have fun?" He asked softly – he seemed to be incapable of speaking louder than softly these days. Arthur nodded, a wild grin on his face as Guin flew down from her perch on top of the wardrobe, nipping at his ear. Hara wound around Hassan's ankles as he set down their day's shopping on the bed, and they all smiled as Lukas' yeti (who Lukas named Jotun) swooped down from the light fixture, screeching madly, and wrapped himself securely around Lukas' neck. Lukas had long since given up trying to pry him off when he did this.

"Oh, yeah, Dmitri, look what we got!" Arthur enthused, trying to get Dmitri to cheer up back into his old self. He dug around in the shopping bags for a few minutes, wherein Lukas and Hassan clambered on the bed and sat in a circle with Dmitri. Arthur triumphantly held up a large box of Every Flavored Beans, and Dmitri's eyes lit right up. These were his favorite kind of Wizarding candy, since he loved mystery. And it was always a mystery, a gamble, with these.

Lukas rolled his eyes, these not being his favorite things in the whole world –but if it cheered Dmitri up, he would go along with it. Hassan, of course, was generally clueless and was left wondering silently exactly what they were and what they did. He had seen Lukas buy himself a box of Ice Mice, and Arthur had a bunch of Chocolate Frogs stowed in his robes currently. Again, he was surprised and in awe of magic, questioning why the hell he hadn't delved into this subject earlier.

Dmitri excitedly pat the spot on the bed directly across from him, with Lukas on his right and Hassan on his left. His Zburator cub, named Tepes, dragged itself on top of his head and rested there quite comfortably as Hara jumped onto the bed and sat daintily in Hassan's lap as her owner removed his keffiyeh.

Arthur sat cross-legged where Dmitri indicated, delicately opening the box with the air of uncovering a great treasure from the ground. Reaching inside so overdramatically that Dmitri snickered, he pulled out a handful of beans and gingerly placed them in the middle of the circle.

"Lukas, you go first." Arthur suddenly said after they spent a moment of very theatrical silence staring ominously at the beans. Lukas jumped, not expecting the noise, then glowered at Arthur.

"Why? Dmitri, you go first!" He retaliated, and Dmitri's eyes widened and he shook his head.

"Arthur, you bought them, you do it!" He shouted, pushing the beans towards Arthur, who automatically pushed them towards Lukas.

"It was Lukas' money, he should do it." He replied, stifling a grin at the look on Lukas' face.

"Actually, it was Alistair's money, he gave us all fifty Galleons, remember? Since you're related to him, you get to eat one first." Lukas hissed, shoving the pile back towards Arthur, who pushed it to Dmitri, and then back to Lukas again. They were so busy arguing over who should dare to eat one, that a dark-skinned hand sneaking a bright red bean went unnoticed. Until-

"Hassan!" Dmitri shrieked, interrupting Lukas and Arthur's newest argument over blood relation. Every eye turned swiftly to the Egyptian, who was rapidly turning red in the face. His green gold eyes were watering and he was choking, clutching at his throat frantically as he tried desperately to swallow the bean.

Dmitri tackled Hassan, thumping him on the back as hard as he could. Lukas jumped right into action too, only as he leapt towards Hassan, his foot became tangled in the blankets. He went crashing to the floor, squirming and cursing, and the box of Every Flavor Beans (which was still open) went down with him.

Arthur tried to shush Hara, who started to yowl madly at her master's plight. They were so caught up in their struggles that they all failed to notice Alistair standing in the doorframe, wondering what the hell was going on.

"Uh…" He finally began, drawing every head towards him. "Bad time?" He asked with a smirk on his face, and it was then that they all realized how very silly they had to look. Hassan on all fours on the floor, choking and coughing with steam coming out of his ears; Dmitri kneeling next to him, repeatedly slamming his hands onto Hassan's back, with Tepes sitting on his head; Arthur, holding onto Hara by her back legs, as her front claws were stuck in the back of Hassan's shirt, and Arthur himself leaning precariously on his belly over the edge of the bed; and Lukas, his ankle hoisted up by the blankets, lying on his back on the floor in a large pile of Every Flavor Beans, looking thoroughly pissed off with the box for the beans on his forehead.

"Little bit, yeah." Arthur said bitterly, finally succeeding in prying Hara off of Hassan, who had mastered the bean and was beginning to breathe normally. Dmitri apologized to Hassan, who rubbed his back and glared at him. Lukas untangled himself from the blankets and sat up, the box still on his head. He looked around at all the spilled beans, then very cautiously picked a grayish green one and ate it.

Arthur, Dmitri, Hassan, and Alistair all looked at Lukas as he gagged. Worried, they watched as he struggled to swallow the offending bean. When he did, he looked at them blankly and all he could say was, "Caviar."

And then the whole situation was suddenly very hilarious to the four teenagers, and they all rolled around on the floor, laughing hysterically. Alistair just shook his head and left the room.

* * *

"Arthur!" Molly Weasley whispered/screamed as she reentered Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place with her children's school supplies tucked under her arms. She felt like screaming and dancing and singing, but ever mindful of that awful portrait of Mrs. Black, she simply set the day's shopping on the floor by the staircase and ran into the kitchen. Her day had been fantastic enough, what with her little Ron being named prefect –prefect! Her Ronnykins!- but this was the icing on the cake.

Arthur Weasley stood up in shock as his wife came barreling into the dusty, cobweb filled dining room, a mad grin on her face and her hair windblown.

"Arthur, Arthur, oh, you'll never believe this!" She exclaimed, clutching a small yellow paper to her chest like it was her first born. Arthur exchanged a worried glance with Lupin, who was also present in the room and was looking just as confused as Arthur.

"Molly, calm down! What's happened?" He asked bemusedly, watching in slight concern as his wife bounced up and down on her heels, unable to stop smiling. She wordlessly held out the paper to him, out of breath but so very happy. Arthur read it. Then read it again. Then dusted off his glasses and read it once more, before shrieking so loudly that Harry, upstairs, dropped his book on his foot.

Lupin stood up and walked over to the two Weasley's, who were currently clutching each other for dear life and near tears. He leaned over Arthur's shoulder, squinting to read the sloppy handwriting.

* * *

_I, Alistair Seamus Kirkland, Order of Merlin First Class, Honorary Member of the Wizenmagot, hereby transfer a total of ten thousand Galleons to from my Gringotts vault to that of the Weasley family._

_(P.S. Thank you, Molly, for rescuing Dmitri. Thank you.)_

_-Alistair S. Kirkland_

* * *

Lupin hastily snatched up the paper, his eyes widening to a frightening amount. Ten thousand Galleons…ten thousand…! He knew Alistair well – he had been one of the first members of the Order of the Phoenix and had treated Lupin like an old friend, despite his condition. They had thought he had been killed by one of the Death Eaters; after the Dark Lord was vanquished by Harry, he had simply disappeared. Alistair had even protested against Dolores Umbridge's law that made it illegal to hire werewolves, though he lost in the end. Lupin distinctly remembered him saying gruffly, "There ain't nothin' wrong with ye. Women also turn into carnivorous, bloodthirsty beasts for a week every month, but I don't see nobody bannin' them from getting' jobs."

As Lupin looked up from the sticky note, a smile growing on his face as well, Sirius poked his head into the room. No doubt to interrogate the source of the happy sobbing and hiccups, which both Weasley's were now producing.

"Lupin? What's going on?" He asked worriedly as he walked into the room, and Lupin, like Molly, handed him the paper with not a single word passing his lips. Sirius took it gingerly, as though afraid of its contents, then read it.

Sirius swore so loud that the Weasley twins Apparated downstairs with their wands ready, obviously expecting a good fight. Almost as soon as they appeared, Molly swept them both into a hug, sobbing her eyes out hysterically.

"Mum! Mum, gerroff-!"

"What the-Mum, stop it!" They both shouted, and Molly let them go, only to do the same to Lupin, who patted her on the back consolingly. Fred and George shared confused looks, both slowly lowering their wands at the same time. Their dad too pulled them into a crushing hug, and they looked at each other again and raised their eyebrows. When Mr. Weasley relinquished their hold on them, Sirius simply handed them the sticky note.

There was near silence for a whole sixty seconds as the two of them read Alistair's sloppy handwriting. Then, as one, they slowly looked up at Mrs. Weasley, then to Lupin, then to Sirius, to Mr. Weasley, back to the note, and then at each other. For once, the two of them were struck speechless.

"Ten thousand Galleons…" Fred whispered hollowly, staring at the paper like it held the secrets of life.

"Ten thousand!" George shouted, looking as though he were about to faint. The two of them instantly ran upstairs (as softly as they could, since they had no desire to wake up Mrs. Black) to fetch the rest of the children.

"How did this…?" Mr. Weasley asked, his voice trembling once everyone was sitting around the table, having heard all about the situation from Fred and George. Sirius had broken out the bottles of butterbeer for the occasion, drinking his maniacally. Everybody leaned towards Mrs. Weasley, eager to hear the story.

"W-Well, I was heading back from Gringotts, a-as I had just…just finished the school shopping. A-And I passed by Eyelops Owl Emporium, and…" At this, her face immediately cleared of all traces of happiness, to be replaced by an expression of utmost fury. "I heard someone…a boy, about Ron's age…screaming, from inside the shop. I was heading in, to help, but…" She took a deep, shuddering breath. "B-Before I could even reach the door, it opened, and…the owner, Roy, shoved the boy onto the pavement…Roy was holding a knife, and the poor child was covered in blood, and he was crying, and it was just heartbreaking."

"But what does that have to do with-?" Fred began, but a glare from Sirius shut him up.

"I'm getting to that, dear…I couldn't just stand there and do nothing…I patched the boy up, cleaned his clothes for him, and the like. He was just so sad…I couldn't understand why Roy would hurt such an innocent and cute little boy, until…" Her face somehow hardened even more, making her look truly furious. "Dmitri had red eyes and fangs, and that's why Roy hurt him. Because of the way he looked!"

Hermione made a pitying squeak, and Harry and Ron shared a dark look, as both of them knew exactly how it felt to be attacked for something they couldn't control. Ginny hissed angrily, and Fred and George both nodded, already scheming up a plan for justice. Sirius winced, and Lupin scowled.

"S-So, I helped him…I bought him a nice pet, just the perfect cheer-up. The smile on his face was just so full of gratitude that I didn't even worry about the money I had spent…as we were leaving the Magical Menagerie, his friends found him, and his guardian, Alistair, found him too." When she spoke of Alistair, she gave a tiny little sigh and her face turned as red as her hair. Arthur coughed pointedly.

"Right, right…then Alistair insisted that he somehow repay me for helping Dmitri, but I couldn't accept, it was something anybody should have done…before he left with his charges though, he told me to go back to Gringotts and check the vault again. So I did, and there was just…gold, everywhere! Galleons and rubies and diamonds! That note-" She nodded shakily towards the abandoned sticky note, "was stuck to the nearest pile of Galleons. I asked the goblin if this was real, if he had actually done this, if this was actually our vault, and it was, it was all ours, and oh, Arthur!" She sobbed, wrapping her arms around her husband again.

George (or was it Fred) whistled lowly, awe shining in his eyes.

"How loaded is this guy if he can just give away that kind of money?!" He whispered, and Sirius laughed heartily.

"There's probably more money in the Weasley vault now than the Malfoy's!" He snickered, and the Weasley children, Harry, and Hermione all adopted equal, evil grins. They couldn't wait until they went back to Hogwarts and could rub it in Malfoy's pale, pointed face that the Weasley's now had more money than him. Mrs. Weasley leapt up, gasping loudly.

"We have to tell Bill! And Charlie, and Per-" At this, all conversation ceased. Mr. Weasley dropped his butterbeer, looking very cold. Recovering quickly, she turned to Harry. "Can I borrow Hedwig, dear?"

"Nope, sorry, Hermione just sent her out." Harry said, shaking his head. Ron jumped to his feet, obviously keen to draw the topic of conversation away from Percy.

"You can take Pig mom, he's been crazy for a job now that Harry's here." He offered, and Molly smiled, following him upstairs while still whispering "ten thousand Galleons!" under her breath.

* * *

"Arthur, can I borrow Guin?" Alistair asked, poking his head into the Dmitri's room, where all the teenagers were gathered. They had all bought themselves brooms with the money Alistair had given them, and now they were bragging to each other, comparing their brooms with the legendary Firebolt.

"Why?" Arthur asked incredulously, wondering why Alistair didn't just use his own owl. Isn't that what had been in the cage Alistair had bought from the Magical Menagerie? But then, he realized, he had never seen what Alistair had bought. Whenever Arthur actually went into Alistair's rented room, the cage had been empty…so what…?

"I need to send a letter." Alistair replied, holding up a tightly sealed envelope. Arthur couldn't determine who the letter was for, as Alistair had most of his fingers covering the name. Before he could determine whether or not Alistair was hiding the name on purpose, Alistair had beckoned Guin down and was tying the letter to her leg.

"Oi, I didn't say yes!" Arthur shouted, but Alistair rolled his eyes.

"You were going to anyways." He said coolly, striding to the window with Guin on his wrist. He opened the window and stuck his arm out, and Guin spread her beautiful wings and took to the skies as Arthur sputtered out curse words and death threats vehemently. Alistair simply swaggered out of the room, and if he noticed the shoe Arthur lobbed at the door once he left, he didn't comment on it, seemingly lost in thought.

"He is the world's biggest asshole." Arthur hissed, not bothering to retrieve his trainer. Lukas and Hassan exchanged a glance and quickly resumed admiring their broomsticks. Dmitri frowned, but remained as silent as Hassan.

Shut up in this room across the hall from Alistair, he heard things Hassan, Arthur, and Lukas did not. Things he couldn't understand, not that he was sure he'd want to. He could hear Alistair saying things to no one, pacing around the room furiously, occasionally cursing.

"Seriously think that they…! This…my school…little shits…they think…no, Dumbledore will surely…oh, come off it…jackasses…got to…protect him…he's back, nobody listens…fucking Dark Lord…Arthur will, no doubt…he'd be honored…Umbridge, they want Umbridge…this is war, people!"

Dmitri had no idea what Alistair was raving about, but it surely got Alistair riled up. And that was enough to get anybody worried, which was the only thing Dmitri seemed to be these days.

* * *

"Come on dude, you always win!" Alfred F. Jones whined, his sky blue eyes glued to the game of Mario Kart even as his younger half-brother Kyle struck him with a blue shell. Kyle laughed loudly as his Yoshi sped past Alfred's Mario, making sure to knock Mario off the track as he went.

"You kept telling me you rocked at this game!" Kyle snickered, his thick Australian accent marring his words. Alfred threw the controller against the ground, conceding defeat.

"I thought I did! I always beat Mattie when I play against him!" Alfred shouted, and Kyle thought it best to not tell Alfred that Matthew actually played Mario Kart excellently; he just pretended to suck so Alfred could believe he was good at it. Kyle, on the other hand, was not that nice. Alfred challenged him, and he had to win, if only to prove that he could.

"You're just mean, you know that?" Alfred muttered, seeing Kyle's taunting gaze. Kyle tried to persuade Alfred to at least finish the race before he quit, but Alfred was done. Sighing, Kyle turned off the N64 and followed the still-sulking Alfred into the kitchen. Al handed Kyle a beer, taking a bottle of Pepsi for himself.

"You don't want beer?" Kyle asked, and Alfred narrowed his eyes at him.

"You know I'm under age, asshole." He muttered, and Kyle chuckled, but nevertheless sipped his beer quietly. It was always a humorous topic, the fact that Alfred was too young to drink in his own country. Other countries would always tease him about it, much to his chagrin, and even when he could drink, he often chose not to. It just wasn't his thing; after living through so many centuries with Arthur getting as drunk as a skunk nearly every weekend, he had developed a serious aversion to alcohol.

They hung out in the kitchen of the London flat Alfred had rented for the World Conference, Alfred sitting on the table and Kyle leaning nonchalantly on the counter, chatting about this and that. Eventually, the conversation steered towards where it always did when these two were left alone with each other. Their next big trip.

Whenever they both had a weekend free, they would get together in secret, and do an extreme sport that poor old Arthur would have a heart attack from. These trips usually ended in disaster and injury for the both of them (their last adventure, going sky-diving over the Grand Canyon, was a particularly painful experience), but they made some good stories, not to mention they got to hang out someplace that wasn't work.

"What about Niagara Falls? I've always wanted to go down that in a barrel." Kyle suggested.

"Dude, people have died doing that!" Alfred shouted, but then remembered that that issue wouldn't be a problem for them, and felt like an idiot. Kyle merely shot him a look, and Alfred quickly recovered from his mistake. "But, we'll be fine! Niagara Falls it is, then." He smiled, and Kyle grinned. It was then, as they were working out their schedules and discussing time differences, that Kyle's ears picked up a tiny sound.

"But, wait, you're a whole day behind me?!" Alfred yelled, and Kyle quickly shushed him. Alfred was about to argue, but then he heard it as well. A tapping noise, like someone gently knocking a nail against glass. Kyle, letting his ears guide him, cautiously poked his head out into the living room and looked around. His eyes immediately found the source; a beautiful barn owl was tapping its beak against the window impatiently, and when its dark eyes saw him, it increased the speed, as though to say, "Hurry up!"

"Crikey, what's an owl doing here?" He muttered, before suddenly realizing the reason this felt so familiar. At the beginning of the summer, a tawny owl had tapped on his bedroom window just like this, with a letter tied firmly around its leg. For some weird reason, and he had yet to figure out why, Arthur and his older brothers sent dire messages by owl. The one he had received in June had told him that some Dark Lord had risen from the grave, and to be on the lookout for any suspicious characters in cloaks and masks, wielding magic. So far, Kyle hadn't seen any…but he always remained vigilant. The letter had said that he might be a target, since he was related to the Kirklands, so he kept his boomerangs on him at all times.

"Owl? What the…Ohhhh…." Alfred slowly said, he too having gotten a few messages delivered by owl in the past, always warning him to be cautious and that there was someone out there who was planning on hurting anyone related to the Kirkland family.

Before Alfred could say another word, Kyle had strided over to the window and opened it. The owl flew inside and landed on the back of the couch, holding its leg out for Kyle to take the letter attached to it. Kyle untied the envelope with slightly trembling hands, and broke the wax seal. He opened it and removed the letter inside, reading it with furrowed Kirkland eyebrows.

"What's it say?" Alfred asked after a minute of watching Kyle mutter some of the words to himself as he read. Kyle, who finished just as Alfred asked the question, wordlessly handed Alfred the letter, who read it so fast his eyes seemed blurry.

* * *

_Kyle –_

_I have written this letter only because the situation is dire; trust me, I wouldn't be asking you to get involved in all this Wizarding business if I couldn't help it. But as it is, do you remember that last letter I sent you? Have you seen anyone, anyone at all that matches the description? I hope you're staying safe._

_In any case, here is the reason for this letter. The Groundskeeper and Care of Magical Creatures professor at Hogwarts, Rubeus Hagrid, is away currently, and there is no telling when he'll be back. Dumbledore, the headmaster of the aforementioned school, has asked me for a recommendation on a replacement professor until such time as Hagrid returns. Naturally, I can't think of anyone more suited for the job than you._

_And no, you don't get a choice in whether or not you'll be teaching. You still owe me for rescuing you from the bottom of the Thames after your last 'vacation' with Alfred, so start packing._

_Before you start freaking out, this job entitles simply educating the students on magical animals and providing course materials, etc. You got this, anyhow; animals and kids, it's like your dream job, isn't it? In any case, Patrick will be along momentarily. He'll be taking you to Diagon Alley to purchase necessary magical items, such as a wand, and helping you with a few basic spells so you don't look like a clueless idiot when you arrive. He'll also be taking you to Hogwarts, where you'll be staying until term starts. Start packing, asshole._

_Oh, and Alfred, if you're reading this, no, you can't come with, and I've already set up measures to ensure you won't. Don't even try._

_Stay safe, and remember to report any blokes in black capes and skull masks. Tell James hi for me._

_-Scottie_

* * *

"Uh…what's Hogwarts again?" Kyle asked, looking incredibly embarrassed to be asking such a thing. It felt like it was an obvious answer, but he just couldn't place it. Like seeing a math problem that you know you should know how to do, but just not getting it at all, no matter how simple it looked. Alfred shrugged, looking thoroughly pissed that he was being shut out of the magical circle.

"Sounds like a disease."

* * *

"Harry, Ronald?" Molly Weasley asked on the day before term started, poking her head into Harry and Ron's shared bedroom. Harry looked up from packing his trunk to see her slightly worried face.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley?" He asked, and she gestured down the hall with her head.

"Professor McGonagall is here. She'd like to have a word with you two." Mrs. Weasley said, looking just as confused as Harry and Ron felt. What would McGonagall be doing here, literally right before school starts? What would she have to ask them? Ron carefully placed his prefect badge in his pocket to ensure that Fred and George wouldn't steal it while they were gone, and Harry hastily finished folding his socks.

"What would McGonagall want with us?" Ron whispered lowly as they exited the room to head down into the kitchen. Harry shrugged, his mind buzzing with too many theories and reasons for her visit to talk much. When the two of them descended the stairs, the professor was waiting for them, looking as severe and strict as always.

"Potter, Weasley." She said sharply, and they both nodded.

"Professor." They said in unison, and the corners of her mouth twitched upwards.

"I have come with a request from the Headmaster." She said, and Harry's heart lept up in excitement, then immediately sank as it was filled with anger and resentment. What could Dumbledore possibly want with him, after a whole summer of pretending he didn't exist and keeping him in the dark? Ron, however, gaped in surprise at McGonagall, obviously not expecting Dumbledore to ask him for something. Vaguely, he wondered if his new status as prefect had anything to do with it.

"Yes, Professor?" Harry asked, recovering first and trying to keep his bitterness towards the Headmaster from leaking into his voice. She lowered her head and surveyed the two of them over the top of her glasses.

"This year at Hogwarts, we are admitting four transfer students, all in the fifth year. The Headmaster was wondering if you would share a dorm with them, to show them the ropes and teach them how our school works." She said slowly, and Harry stood there, dumbstruck. Ron was blinking profusely in confusion, and out of the corner of his eye he could see the tip of an Extendable Ear poking through the bottom of the kitchen door.

"Uh…yeah, of course we will." Harry finally said thickly, swallowing any resentment he had towards Dumbledore. Ron nodded behind him, finally getting over his shock.

"Excellent. I will see you at the start of term feast, Potter, Weasley." Professor McGonagall said, striding out the front door as fast as she had come, leaving two very confused fifteen year-olds in her wake.

* * *

This is it, Arthur thought to himself as he grinned, leading the group through King's Cross Station with excitement practically pouring off of him. We're finally going!

"Don't piss yourself, Arthur." Lukas muttered with a tiny smile, following after the overexcited Brit with Jotun's cage in one hand and one eye on Dmitri. In fact, the whole group besides Arthur was keeping their gaze on Dmitri, watching him carefully to see how he reacted to the sudden crowd of people. But Dmitri was acting like he had done before they had even taken the trip; carefree and mischievous. Nobody was quite sure why, but to Dmitri, it was simply that his friends were getting as many weird looks as he was for once. That was, of course, mostly due to the fact that Lukas was carrying a monkey, Hassan had Hara sitting on top of his head proudly, and Alistair was pushing a trolley piled high with trunks, Tepes' and Guin's cages placed precariously on top.

"This way, come on!" Arthur called over his shoulder, nearly sprinting into the wall between Platforms 9 and 10. Before Hassan had a chance to fully realize why Arthur suddenly disappeared (Lukas and Dmitri had seen magical walls plenty of times before), Alistair had shoved him through. Hassan braced himself for an impact, clenching his eyes shut in anticipation of a brick wall slamming into his face. It never came. Instead, he got a lungful of smoke.

His eyes slowly opened as he recovered from this latest coughing fit, and he at first he was sure he had hit his head on the wall, for there was no way what he was seeing had been there before. A bright scarlet steam engine train was sitting by the platform, periodically puffing out smoke. Wizards of every size and shape and color milled around on the platform itself; cats twirled around ankles, tripping more than a few people; owls hooted dolefully over the noise of the crowd; and he could even hear a toad croaking if he concentrated hard enough.

He turned on his heel, slowly to ensure Hara did not fall off, and watched avidly as Alistair appeared with the trolley, passing through the wall as though it was mere mist. The urge to figure out exactly what the hell was up with the wall nearly overrode the deep rooted instinct to stay silent. But before he could even muster up a questioning facial expression, Arthur (whose hyperactivity seemed to grow tenfold when they reached Platform 9 ¾) had grabbed him by his sleeve and practically dragged him towards the train.

"Come on! If we hurry we'll get a whole compartment to ourselves!" Arthur shouted over the noise of the crowd. Lukas and Dmitri materialized through the wall behind Alistair, Dmitri laughing at the helpless look on Hassan's face as Arthur pulled the Egyptian behind him. The four of them found a completely empty compartment around the end of the train, Alistair only joining them in order to help them lift up their trunks onto the luggage racks.

"Have fun at Hogwarts…there'll be a surprise for you." Alistair said, a bit terrified when Arthur timidly hugged him (seriously, what was up with him?! He had been acting brotherly…and nice…to Alistair ever since they had been de-aged!). He had gingerly wrapped his arms around Arthur, trying not to be a stiff board like he normally was when hugged, but then he had bolted out of the train as fast as his legs could carry him.

If Arthur noticed his friends giving him weird looks after the hug, he completely ignored them. Truth was, as stupid as it sounded, he felt…vulnerable like this. Which was absolutely ridiculous, seeing as how him becoming physically younger-looking did not affect his mind or skill at all. Unless, of course, Alistair somehow screwed up the de-aging spell, which was equally ridiculous.

Even though his brain was telling him that he was being an idiot, there was no denying that terrible shiver running down his back, that twinge of fear that was constantly in his heart that made him glance over his shoulder every five minutes.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

He tried not to let his paranoia show as his Dmitri and Lukas chatted happily about Hogwarts and worried about Alistair's 'surprise'. Hassan was smiling and nodding with everything they said, his eyes sparkling with happiness. Their pets were all there, and they were finally on their way to Hogwarts. Everything was as it should be.

So why, why, couldn't Arthur sleep at night?

* * *

**A/N: Ta-da! Boom baby!**

**Did you like it? I liked it! Reviews will earn you House Points!**

**Thanks for reading, you wonderful person you~**


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